The Pensions Regulator (TPR) recently published a response on its website to a Freedom of Information (FOI) Act request, regarding the number of trustees it had written to regarding DB transfer activity.
Warning letters
The request asked for the number of trustees that TPR had written to from the beginning of 2016 until the end of July 2018, “to warn them about financial advisers targeting members to encourage them to take a DB transfer”.
While the watchdog does not hold data for 2016 and 2017, it does for 2018.
“Unfortunately, though we may have contacted trustees regarding similar activity during 2016-2017, we do not hold this information as we did not start recording this until 2018,” the response says.
2018 data
TPR responded to the FOI request saying: “Since 1 January 2018, TPR has so far sent letters on 12 occasions to trustees regarding transfer activity.”
These letters were sent jointly by the TPR, the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) and The Pensions Advisory Service (TPAS).
They were to be shared with scheme members requesting transfer values, advising them to carefully consider the risks and options.
In June, the UK’s Office for National Statistics (ONS) found that £10.6bn flowed out of DB schemes in the first quarter of 2018 alone.
